


the girl on the platform

by b_j_hx



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Chance Meetings, Crystal is an artist, F/F, Gigi is a designer, Lesbian AU, Strangers to Lovers, train station AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24588256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_j_hx/pseuds/b_j_hx
Summary: Gigi's day was bad enough without her train home being severely delayed. Fortunately, there's a girl on the platform that she can't help staring at, despite herself.
Relationships: Gigi Goode/Crystal Methyd
Comments: 19
Kudos: 119





	the girl on the platform

Gigi sighed irritably, wrapping her long beige trench coat tighter around her shivering frame, as the night drew closer and there was still no sign of the train.

The platform was packed, throngs of commuters long since fed up of standing around had taken to sitting on the dirty floor, clutching their coffee cups, contents now cold. Several people were on the phone to their families, complaining about the delay, trying to catch the eye of the nervous station staff members as they did so, blaming them for their incompetence when it came to getting them home in time for dinner, as if their outrage would will the train to arrive quicker.

Gigi didn’t have anyone waiting for her at the end of the line. Just her cold, dark apartment, her ginger tabby cat, Tizzy, and her sewing machine. Her feet were aching in the Louboutin heels she’d forced herself to wear today, for the meeting with the buyers that had gone horrifically badly, so badly Gigi had tried to erase it from memory completely, all her hopes and dreams of becoming a designer seemingly dashed again in an instant by the buyer’s cold, disapproving stare. She should ring her mother, back in her big, comfortable, stylish childhood home, tell her she was failing to carve out a life for herself without her parents help, she’d need them to cover next month’s rent cheque on her shitty one bed. The thought made her gut churn with anxiety.

She’d worked tirelessly to try and become _someone_ , reinventing herself as Gigi, as opposed to her full name, Georgina, a name that had carried her through the halls of her high school as Queen Bee but didn’t seem fit for a budding designer. So Gigi it was, and the name made her feel confidence. Well, it did to begin with. Before she got knocked back so much.

She was only twenty two, she reminded herself. She had time.

The minutes ticked by, the platform feeling increasingly more claustrophobic, the screams of a distressed baby causing Gigi to screw her eyes shut against the onslaught of crying, trying to focus on breathing deeply. The delay was now over an hour. She refused to move, knowing where she stood was exactly where the doors to her preferred carriage would stop, a habit she didn't think she ever could break, knowing she loved being able to sit in her favourite window seat, the one that, in her opinion, afforded the best position to see the cityscape rushing by, the world she'd wanted to live in so badly as a teen that was finally her reality. Her handbag, light as it was, felt heavier with every minute that passed. She tapped her foot impatiently, wishing, hoping, for the stupid train to come.

Her phone was almost dead, the battery low after mindless scrolling through social media trying to pass the time whilst she waited. She didn't want it to die completely, the thought of walking from the train to her apartment with no means of communication a scary scenario her mother had given her the fear of as a child. Instead, she tried to focus her attention on the other people on the platform, trying to guess where they were headed, if their lives were any better than hers. The commuters, like her, heading home after a day at work. There was the mother, the one who’s baby’s piercing whine had gone right through her. She looked frazzled, hair haphazardly shoved in a bun, rocking the buggy containing the now quiet baby with one hand while she held an older child on her hip with the other. Gigi guessed the dad was waiting for them at home, with a beef casserole on the table. Then there was the gang of boys skateboarding by the exit, the ones getting yelled at to move on by the station staff. Not too far away from where she was standing, there was a woman, who looked around Gigi’s age. Young, almost too young to be navigating the city alone. She was sat on the crowded bench, earphones in, smiling slightly, head tilted back a fraction. She looked blissful, despite being stuck on a crowded platform, with a delayed train. Her red hair was curly, the wild kind, untameable, but she rocked it. Gigi couldn't help but admire her style. Not many people could pull off purple velour trousers and a yellow button-up collared shirt. _She’s pretty._

Gigi blinked, still taking all of the woman in. She looked artsy, like her head was full of ideas, crowded with crazy thoughts. She was tapping a foot clad in a Doc Marten boot on the ground, completely in her own world. Her fingers were adorned with rings, her wrists with bracelets. Gigi imagined if she was stood closer she’d be able to hear them jangle together as the woman moved her hands.

The announcement came over the tannoy, the train was still broken down along the track, meaning the delay could take a further thirty minutes. This was met by groans and cursing from the commuters, and the baby began to cry again, like they knew what was going on. The woman, however, was still lost in her music, Gigi doubted she’d even heard the announcement, or if she had, she wasn’t phased about getting wherever it was she was going any time soon.

Her feet were almost numb from cold, the dull ache in her toes constant. She longed to duck onto a bench, rest her feet for a moment, especially if she was going to be stuck here for another half hour. There was no space to sit anywhere, there hadn’t been when she’d arrived either. She wasn’t the type of person who’d just plonk herself down on the dirty floor, either.

An overweight man who had been eating a particularly foul-smelling sandwich suddenly vacated the nearest bench, ambling off toward the toilet. Gigi saw her chance and swiftly moved to her right, at the same time another man did. He quickly gestured for Gigi to take the bench, smiling, and she did, gracefully, folding her hands over her handbag in her lap and daintily crossing her legs. Only then did she register who she’d come to be sitting next to. The colourfully dressed woman, the one who Gigi had admired.

Gigi glanced over, careful not to stare in case the woman noticed, and up close her jewellery was even more beautiful, some dainty silver rings mixed in with colourful stones and costume pieces. Gigi was certain it wouldn’t work on anyone else, but the way her tanned skin offset the metal rings was gorgeous. Gigi smiled as the rush of relief sunk right down to her aching feet, which were finally getting a rest.

‘I think he must have liked you.’

Gigi whipped her head round again, this time staring directly into the eyes of the woman. She’d removed an earphone, the wire dangling down her chest almost entangling itself in a bunch of necklaces. Her eyes were a deep brown.

‘Sorry?’ Gigi responded, registering the woman’s almost childlike smile, two sets of perfect teeth, the brilliant white of her grin turning her whole face from _pretty_ to _beautiful._

‘That guy, he must have _really_ liked you to give up the seat.’

‘Oh, I'm sure he was just being chivalrous.’ Gigi commented airily, noticing the guy had taken her place up against the wall. She couldn’t ignore the fact her heart was beating slightly faster ever since the woman had first spoken to her.

‘No, he wouldn’t have done it for anyone, it’s because you look like a runway model. Men, they’re so _obvious_.’

Gigi’s mind was stuck on the compliment, the easy way it had fallen from the woman’s lips, like it was a thought she’d already had in her brain.

‘Men are _very_ that.’ Was all Gigi could think to respond.

The woman giggled, her whole face lighting up. She absentmindedly twirled a curl around her finger.

‘I'm Georgina - uh, Gigi.’ Gigi introduced herself quickly.

The woman turned back to face Gigi, smiling. ‘I'm Crystal.’

 _Crystal._ If ever there was a name more suited. It conjured up images of pretty colours and jewels and fortune tellers in Gigi’s mind.

‘Hi, Crystal.’ Gigi smiled back.

‘You been waiting here all night too?’ Crystal asked, indicating the packed platform.

‘Don’t even get me started.’ Gigi laughed.

‘Where are you headed?’ Crystal asked, in a way that didn't sound as if she was prying, just chatting to an old friend. Gigi liked how comfortable she felt around her already, this colourful woman she’d known for all of two minutes.

‘Just home, to my flat and my cat.’ Gigi winced at the unintentional rhyming.

‘I have a cat!’ Crystal replied enthusiastically. ‘He’s called Tic-Tac.’

‘Mine’s called Tizzy.’ Gigi smiled, ‘she’s a ginger tabby.’

‘That’s so cute. I'm definitely more of a cat person than a dog person.’

‘Well, I have a dog back at my parents house, she’s a dachshund called Nancy.’ Gigi wasn’t sure why she was suddenly sharing this boring, inane information with a virtual stranger on the platform. It almost felt like a blind date. But she couldn't deny that the conversation with Crystal felt nice, not to mention it was passing the time.

‘There’s a character in my all time favourite film called Nancy.’ Crystal grinned.

‘Nightmare on Elm Street?’ Gigi grinned, ‘yeah, her full name’s Nancy Thompson but we don’t call her that when she goes for walks.’

Crystal was laughing, brown eyes crinkling. ‘Shut up.’

‘No, I’m not joking, I love that film.’

‘You _have_ to get a boy called Freddy.’

‘I couldn’t convince my parents.’ Gigi was almost hysterical, hardly believing how much she had in common with Crystal.

‘Okay, so, high school, I’m going to a Halloween party dressed as Freddy Krueger.’ Crystal began, and Gigi immediately giggled, picturing _exactly_ that in her head. ‘I made my costume myself, and I stuck bandaids to my head over a wig cap.’

‘The most adventurous _I_ ever was on Halloween was when I sewed a Daphne from Scooby Doo costume.’

‘Shut up, you sew?’ Crystal asked excitedly.

‘Yeah.’ Gigi smiled sadly, remembering her awful day. ‘I'm a designer, well, trying to be.’

Crystal noticed the shift in Gigi’s mood, turning her body slightly to face her better. ‘I bet your designs are amazing. I'd love to do it, I mean, full time, but right now I'm more focused on my art.’

The girls settled into a comfortable conversation, Gigi opening up about trying to get her work noticed in the city and how she’d had to take a weekend job at a makeup counter to try and make ends meet. How she was worried about her team of five girls who did her PR and shipped out orders to Instagram girls in a bid to get Gigi on the map. How every meeting with potential buyers left her feeling more and more worthless. Crystal sat and listened, her kind, soulful expression only prompting Gigi to speak more, about the things she was too scared to tell her parents, her friends back home who thought she had made it. The girl on the platform had made her feel more seen than anyone.

Eventually, Crystal opened up too, about her dad, who was unwell, about her struggling artist’s career, and her three best friends, who sounded like crazy movie characters to Gigi, about her debut in the filmmaking world, and the regret of leaving her parents in her small town. In half an hour, they had made a connection, making Gigi all the more glad she’d sat down next to Crystal, and not just admired her from afar.

The loud tannoy announcement stopped the girls conversation, both eagerly awaiting news on the delayed train. The entire platform was sat with baited breath, and thankfully, they were informed that the train was indeed on the way and should only be ten minutes. The relief was palpable, the commuters hurriedly informing their families they wouldn’t be long, Crystal excusing herself to text her roommate to tell her she was on the way. Gigi felt a pang of sadness that no one was going to be there when she got back, not even a roommate. She quickly pushed the thought away and regained her composure, straitening her back, stretching as much as she could whilst being seated, the effects of the hard wooden bench prominent in her back muscles.

‘Sorry, Daegen was upset I'd missed her mushroom lasagne.’ Crystal laughed.

Gigi gave her a small smile, wishing she had a Daegen, someone who cared about her enough to make her dinner once in a while. She realised that they didn’t have a lot of time left before the train arrived and Crystal would be gone. She bit the bullet, wanting to know more about the alluring redhead.

‘So, is Daegen your girlfriend?’ She asked, hoping she wasn’t overstepping, despite the deep conversation the two had previously shared. Gigi tried to ignore the voice in her head that was willing Crystal to say no.

‘Oh god, no.’ Crystal laughed, and despite herself, Gigi felt the relief. ‘We like, kissed once, and realised it was _never_ going to happen.’

So she _was_ into girls, at least.

‘What about you, you got a special someone?’ Crystal smiled at Gigi.

‘I’m as single as can be.’ Gigi said breezily, and then followed up quietly with ‘too focused on my work.’

She swore Crystal’s grin became wider, but maybe that was just wishful thinking.

‘Not gonna give Mr Chivalrous a shot?’ Crystal joked, looking across Gigi to the guy who’d given up his seat for her.

‘Let’s just say _he’s_ not my type.’

‘Oh, I see.’ Crystal looked like a kid on Christmas. Gigi felt a similar sense of joy inside her. She couldn’t explain it, but being around Crystal made her unexplainably calm and happy.

‘You got anyone waiting for you at home?’ Crystal asked, as the train began to pull into the station.

‘No, just Tizzy.’ Gigi smiled, recalling she’d left extra food out this morning, and her ground-floor apartment allowed a cat flap, before she even knew why it mattered.

‘Will Tizzy be okay if I invite you over for a drink?’ Crystal smiled bashfully, and Gigi felt her heart do a flip. It was exactly what she’d hoped she’d say. Gigi realised she'd been holding her breath, part of her nervous that this was the last she'd see of Crystal, part of her hoping for more.

‘Tizzy would want that, I'm sure.’

Crystal lived only two stops ahead of Gigi on the train, a twenty minute walk on foot, Gigi had calculated on the short walk back to the redhead’s apartment. She couldn't believe the turn her day had taken, from complete defeat to complete elation as Crystal lead her through the unfamiliar streets toward her home.

‘Will Daegen mind me coming over?’ Gigi asked, remembering Crystal’s roommate’s name, quite proud it hadn’t escaped her.

‘No way, I never bring girls over, and she’ll definitely love you.’

_I never bring girls over._

Gigi felt something akin to pride. She must be special.

Crystal’s apartment was, predictably, chaos, every room covered in art, surfaces cluttered with _stuff,_ both sofas home to chaotic stuffed cushions in all the colours of the rainbow. Gigi was stood in the living room, taking it all in, whilst shrugging her shoulders out of her trench coat, suddenly feeling very overdressed in her stylish work clothes and heels.

‘I had a meeting today.’ Gigi said, by way of explanation, although Crystal would soon know her closet didn't scream _comfy casual._

Crystal just smiled, taking her coat and hanging it by the door.

Later that evening, after meeting Daegen, who was absolutely hilarious and brought out a goofy side of Gigi she was pretty sure she hadn’t seen since hanging around with her closest friends inhigh school, and a microwaved plate of lasagne, her and Crystal had settled on the sofa, a little apart, to watch a movie. The more the evening had worn on, the more Gigi was sure she was developing a crush on the beautiful warm woman, especially when Daegen told her funny stories about the air headed things Crystal had done in the past. Gigi was endeared to her.

She had absolutely no idea if Crystal felt the same way, though.

‘Geege, do you want me to find you something comfortable to chill out in?’ Crystal’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, the redhead pressing pause on the movies opening credits.

Gigi was taken back, shocked by the intimacy of the comment, of the way Crystal had used the same nickname her Aunt Jackie had called her as a child.

Crystal seemed to sense it, quickly adding that Gigi’s clothes, fashionable as they were, looked uncomfortable. Gigi just smiled and nodded in response, not sure if it was an invitation to stay the night, or just Crystal going out of her way to make sure she felt at home while she was here.

Crystal returned with a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, which Gigi gratefully accepted and changed into in Crystal’s small bathroom. When she opened the bathroom door, she was greeted by a large cat, much larger than Tizzy.

‘Hi, Tic-Tac,’ she smiled, leaning down to stroke him. He was very friendly, and purred almost immediately.

‘He likes you.’ Crystal smiled, as Gigi came back into the living room, Tic-Tac hot on her heels.

‘I’m sure he likes everyone.’ Gigi laughed, suddenly conscious of the fact she was in front of Crystal looking more dressed down than most people ever see her on a first date - if this could ever be considered a date - and she was wearing Crystal’s clothes, that smelt of the same perfume Gigi had inhaled at the train station when she’d sat down.

Crystal just smiled, patting the spot next to her on the sofa.

Gigi let all the stress of her day melt away as she got sucked into the movie, comfortable with a patchwork blanket over her and the cat at her feet. This was the most relaxed she’d felt since moving to the city, she realised.

As the movie went on, Gigi wondered whether she should make a move, knowing she wanted nothing more than to snuggle into the girl beside her. However, something held her back, she was sitting almost rigidly with her hands in her lap after adjusting her position, alerting a sleeping Tic-Tac who had now slunk away. Then, Crystal looked over at her, and caught Gigi staring. She wordlessly opened her arms, before whispering ‘come here.’

Gigi snuggled into Crystal’s embrace, ignoring the butterflies ricocheting around in her stomach, instead focusing on how gorgeous the other woman smelled. Crystal’s embrace was warm, and Gigi, who didn’t sleep well at home even when her day _hadn’t_ included a bad meeting and a delayed train home, felt herself drift off.

She woke up an indeterminable time later, registering soft fingers brushing her hair back from her brow, her eyelids fluttering open to register Crystal’s brown orbs staring down at her, expression full of something Gigi couldn’t pinpoint.

‘The movie’s over. You must have been pretty tired, huh?’

Gigi remembered she was in Crystal’s, apartment, and she’d fallen asleep watching the movie. _Shit,_ how embarrassing.

‘I was already going to ask if you wanted to stay the night.’ Crystal spoke quietly, and Gigi sensed it was very late. ‘But there’s no way I'm putting you back on the train now.’

Gigi smiled weakly, too tired to fight it, not that she probably would have anyway.

Crystal took her hand and the two girls made their way to Crystal’s room, which looked exactly as Gigi could’ve imagined, hot pink walls and an orange and yellow comforter, art and knick knacks everywhere.

‘It’s about the tidiest room in the house, okay?’ Crystal joked, smiling sheepishly.

Gigi smiled, gratefully slipping under the sheets that Crystal had pulled back for her. A small object caught her eye, it looked like a pillow, but fun sized, maybe for Tic-Tac, she thought.

‘Okay, don’t laugh.’ Crystal said, slipping in beside her. ‘My Grandma made me this when I was a baby.’

Gigi felt her heart swell.

‘That’s so goddamn adorable.’

‘No, it’s not.’ Crystal laughed.

‘No, really, I had something like that too.’ Gigi smiled. ‘When I was younger, I had a toy cat named Tizzy, a ginger tabby, but I lost her. I slept with her like, every night. I was heartbroken. But now I've got the real Tizzy to keep me company.’

Crystal smiled, and Gigi realised the redhead had been playing with a lock of her hair as she’d been speaking.

The two settled down, Gigi noticing that Crystal had immediately positioned herself so that Gigi could lay on her chest. Gigi listened to the other woman’s heartbeat, lulled by the steadiness Crystal had already brought to her life. Pushing her nerves aside, she tilted her head up, wanting nothing more than to feel Crystal’s soft lips on hers.

Crystal noticed Gigi shift and leaned down to join their lips together, both girls lost in the kiss immediately, Gigi opening her mouth slightly to allow Crystal’s tongue entrance. Gigi whimpered slightly, it felt so good, so right, like they’d been building up to this moment all evening, which of course they had. Crystal broke the kiss after a little while, smiling bashfully.

‘You’re so beautiful.’ Crystal whispered, cupping Gigi’s cheek and gently rubbing her thumb over it.

‘You’re incredible.’ Gigi whispered back, knowing her grin was that of a schoolgirl with a crush, who couldn't believe her luck.

‘Can I keep you?’ Crystal asked shyly, running her hand down Gigi’s arm, making the ticklish Gigi giggle.

‘Yes please.’

They fit together so well, Crystal just enough chaos to counteract Gigi’s rigidity, and Gigi had never, ever been more grateful for a delayed train.


End file.
